Chances
by Cogent
Summary: A Sequel to 'Apologize'. What if... Come in and read for yourself. Shiznat. Some special guest appearances by other fav couples.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Mai Hime and Mai Otome, don't belong to me, they belong to Sunrise. The song, 'Cuts like a knife' belongs to Rockwell. **

**A sequel to my other story, 'Apologize'. Thank you to those who read and reviewed AND to those who read but either too sad to review or too shy to review. :p Apologies to those who felt down after reading it. I hope all of you will like this sequel.**

**This is just a fan fiction. The characters in this story is not related to any living people unless by purely coincidental. Please don't sue me.**

**Natsuki's POV:**

10 years had passed since that night. I do think about you sometimes, especially when I'm alone and not so busy with my work. Many things had changed around me, places, friends and including me. Here I am in my office after a long 4 hours in surgery. I was happy that the patient survived and his family was happy when I broke the news to them.

I am 28 years old now and a successful doctor who graduated earlier than most people of my age. Most probably, I had concentrated so much in my life after you left me that night. It was just an excuse for me to run away from the memories of you. I'm just a coward deep inside when it comes to matters of the heart. I wonder...

'Knock, knock'

"Come in!" I yelled after I got startled out of my deep thoughts. The person entered and happened to be one of my nurses in the hospital.

"Hey, Natsuki, do you want to eat dinner with me and Mikoto?" Mai asked me when she entered my office.

My close friend, Mai, she is still unmarried and Mikoto is forever hanging around her. She works here at the same hospital. She wanted to be a nurse to care for people like how she cares for her friends. Well, Mikoto and her are together as a couple, and many times, I wonder if our situation would be the same as theirs if I had enough courage to tell you on that night.

"Natsuki?" Mai called out to me when I drifted off to my own world again.

"Huh? Oh, sorry. I was just thinking about something. I don't think I can make it tonight, I have some more work to be done. Thanks, anyways." I told her and smiled at her to show her that I'm feeling fine.

"Alright then, don't work too hard and have a good rest later." Mai waved goodbye to me and went out of my office.

I'm thankful for a friend like her. I could go crazy if she wasn't there for me. I decided to go through my documents that were piling on my desk before I leave.

2 hours later, I had gone through most of the documents and I was getting tired. I left the office and got into the car to drive home. But I'm in no mood to be home yet.

So I drove through the night and let the radio played in my car, yes, my beautiful silver Porsche Carrera GT. Haha, Kuga Natsuki, is driving a car now. If someone had told me that in the past, I would be laughing about it or I would just glared at the person. Well, my Porsche is still a fast car. I had no choice but to drive now since I couldn't ride anymore after the accident. Yes, I was involved in an accident.

Here I am, all alone, driving along the road towards the place that held many bittersweet memories. I will always come here whenever I miss you.

This is the place where I would always bring you along during my rides after school. I felt free with the wind when I was riding with you in the past. There was something about you that always managed to calm me down deep inside. When I arrived at the cliff, I got out from my car but let the radio played on. They happened to play one of the saddest songs in history and it happened to be the one that sang what I felt right now.

_You touched my life  
with a softness in the night  
my wish was your command  
until you ran  
out of love  
I tell my self I'm free  
got the change of living just for me  
no need to carry on  
now that you're gone_

_CHORUS  
Knife  
cuts like a knife  
how will I ever heal  
I'm so deeply wounded  
knife  
cuts like a knife  
you cut away the heart of my life_

**Flashback**

After you left me at the park, the rain started to fall. It became heavier but I still forced myself to get on my bike to ride away from that place. I rode fast even when it was raining and the roads were slippery but I trusted my skills. I was devastated and had to clear my head.

Suddenly, there was some roadwork ahead of me and I couldn't stop on time before the sign. I turned to the left side of the roadwork and there was a coming car. I avoided it but I skidded and fell with my bike. I didn't know how far I went down with my bike from the roadwork but I knew it seemed a while before I got separated from my bike and came to a stop. I heard a loud explosion before I lost my consciousness.

The loud siren from the ambulance woke me up after I had been unconscious on the roadside. I saw a few people around me when I opened my eyes and I tried to get up but I couldn't, my body refused to listen to me. I asked myself, what happened and I couldn't remember except that I was feeling very tired and decided to close my eyes again. Maybe I should just rest for a while…

The next thing I knew, I was in a hospital bed. I opened my eyes and heard some noises before I saw clearly what was before me. Familiar voices… When I saw clearly, Mai and Mikoto were by my side and they were relieved to see me awake. I tried to look around the room and was upset that I didn't see you. My eyes were filled with tears but I refused to let them spilled.

How I wish I could see you again but you told me that everything was over. I missed you but I refused to show it in front of my friends.

Mai sensed my sadness and told me that she had tried to call you but she couldn't reach you. I was told that Nao had gone over to your place, she had knocked a number of times on your door but there was no answer. I think she could have disturbed your neighbors when one of them informed her that you had moved away.

I just nodded at Mai and smiled at her. She was a good friend and I didn't blame her for not being able to get hold of you.

You who could just appeared in my life in less than a minute and I am not surprised when you disappeared just like that.

I stayed in the hospital for a couple of months for my recovery, it was a serious accident, and I couldn't walk and needed to go through physiotherapy. I was in a lot of pain.

My friends came by to keep me company everyday. Nao would always try to irritate me to make me become normal again. She was kind to let me vent my frustrations on her but she denied about helping me though.

Mai would always bring along her famous ramen and extra mayonnaise without the doctor's knowledge and she had to make extras to keep Mikoto away from my food.

During my stay in the hospital, I looked around me that there was so much in life that I could do. There were so many sick people who needed help and from there, I realized my true calling. I decided to study to become a doctor just like my mother, except that I would be using my knowledge to save more human lives.

**End of flashback**

_When I pretend when I smile  
to fool my dearest friends  
I wonder if they know  
it's just a show  
I'm on a stage day or night  
through my charades  
but how can I disguise  
what's in my eyes  
(Repeat CHORUS) _

Oh oh oh oh oh ...

I try and try locking up  
the pain I feel inside  
the pain of wanting you  
_wanting you_

For those who didn't know me, they see me as a young successful doctor who has everything in her life. I dated quite a few people, men and women. They were attractive but the feelings were never the same as those I had with you.

People always looked at me as being cold and distant outside of the hospital. What they didn't know was that a little warmth from you, could melt me away. No one knew anyways, not even those who are close with me now. Everyday I will put on my mask, walking around and pretend that I'm happy.

Many times, I had come to this cliff to pour out my feelings and thoughts to the sea. The wind and the sea would reply me by soothing me with their breeze and sounds from the waves to calm me down.

I am able to make my way home now. I hope you are safe and happy wherever you are now. I miss you, Shizuru.

**TBC**

**Well, I will say this once, I'm a softie, yes, I am.. I'm just not cut out to write sad endings…. I had this as a back up if I can't stand people getting depressed or sad because of the other story.**

**Should I continue?**

**Pls r & r.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Mai Hime and Mai Otome, don't belong to me, they belong to Sunrise. The song, 'Stronger' belongs to Kanye West. **

**This is just a fan fiction. The characters in this story is not related to any living people unless by purely coincidental. Please don't sue me.**

**I had tried to add the new chapter on Sunday but there was an error that didn't allow me to update my stories until today. So now it's up again. Yeah!!!**

**Thank you to those who had read and reviewed this story. Sorry again if I had made anyone sad or depressed with my story. I hope you will enjoy this chapter.**

**Natsuki's POV:**

'**Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep'**

The sun shone brightly into my bedroom, my alarm woke me up. Lazily I opened my eyes and sat up on my bed. I looked at the clock and saw that it was 5am. I smiled to myself, thinking at how much I had changed throughout the years. Me, an early morning person. Shizuru would laugh at me if she knew.

I got out of bed and washed my face in the bathroom. I began my daily workout before my shower and favorite breakfast, a mayo sandwich with milk.

After breakfast, I changed into my office attire, black pants with blue business shirt and with my black jacket. I looked into the mirror and told myself that I look and feel great today.

I'm lucky that I lived near the hospital, I hopped into my Porsche and let the radio on, and my favorite song 'Stronger' was on by Mr. Kanye West himself. Indeed I need to be stronger… since I had been thinking about you a lot recently.

_- n- now th- that don't kill me  
can only make me stronger  
i need you to hurry up now  
cause i can't wait much longer  
i know i got to be right now  
cause i cant get much wronger  
man i've been waitin' all night now  
that's how long i've been on ya_

_i need you right now  
i need you right now_

Here I am on my way to work, singing along to the lyrics of the song. I tried not to think so much about you and looking forward to reaching the hospital soon. I hoped today would be different and better.

I drove past a number of cars, they irritated me. How I wish I am riding now and could reach the place earlier than this. I guessed some things never change, I still prefer to be as fast as the wind on the road.

"Move it, Baka!" I shouted in my car to the motorist in front of me. I decided to overtake the car and saw a sleepy driver whose eyes were half open. 'Irresponsible B$740!' I thought angrily to myself. How many people could have been in an accident if he missed the traffic.

_n- n- now th- that don't kill me  
can only make me stronger  
i need you to hurry up now  
cause i can't wait much longer  
i know i got to be right now  
cause i cant get much wronger  
man i've been waitin' all night now  
that's how long i've been on ya_

_i need you right now  
i need you right now_

_me likey_

_i don't know if you got a man or not,  
if you made plans or not  
god put me in the plans or not  
i'm trippin' this drink got me sayin' a lot  
but i know that god put you in front of me_

Ok, the traffic is killing me!!! I'm stuck in a jam, I should have taken the other route. Mai was **soooo** going to nag at me if I am late.

_n- n- now th- that don't kill me  
can only make me stronger  
i need you to hurry up now  
cause i can't wait much longer  
i know i got to be right now  
cause i cant get much wronger  
man i've been waitin all night now  
that's how long i've been on ya_

_i need you right now  
i need you right now_

Finally! I reached the hospital, I parked my car into the usual reserved parking space. I turned off my car and got out. 

I took out my document bag with me and walked quickly to the office, I may be early but it was better to be earlier than Mai. I walked past the corridors and went into the elevator. I got out of the elevator and at last, I went into my office.

"Good morning, Natsuki." Mai was already in my office, standing next to my table to hand me the list of patients that I needed to attend to.

"Good morning, Mai. I can never be earlier than you, right?" I smiled at her and she laughed at me.

"Well, I know your timing, Natsuki. So there is no way you can be earlier than me." Mai teased me.

"Hmm, you sound like a stalker now." Mai's eyes got bigger and we laughed together.

"Ok, I shall go and do my rounds. Oh, by the way, please remember that I will be on leave tomorrow." She told me and I couldn't remember anything about it.

"Huh?" I stood beside her and was feeling confused.

"Natsuki, I need to visit Takumi and Akira. Remember?" She stared at me in disbelief.

"Oh, yes! I remember now. Sorry. So I will only see you after a week right?" I asked her to confirm. How could I forget about her leave?! Her brother and sis in law were having a baby. Yes, Takumi's and Akira's first born child. They had been married for a year now.

"Yes, Mikoto will be joining me too, so you won't have ramen partners for a week." Mai joked with me.

"Alright, Mai. I will see both of you off. What time is your flight?" I sat in my chair and looked through my documents when I asked her.

"At 7pm, don't be late!" After saying that, she walked out of my office.

'Sigh'

I opened my drawer and took out some photos that were placed inside. I looked at Takumi's wedding photo with all of our friends in it. I visited them when they got married last year. Takumi and Akira decided to further their studies there after Takumi's surgery was a success. They seemed to be happy and doing well over there. Takumi became a celebrity chef and Akira had opened a martial arts school. I am happy for them. I looked at the picture of us on your graduation day at Fuuka High, I wished we could be like them.

'Ring ring'

My phone rang and I answered almost immediately. I'm needed in a meeting for an important person's surgery. The surgery was scheduled to be within a week.

How important was that person, I didn't know. All I knew was that all human should be treated fairly regardless of how rich or poor the person could be.

I took some of the files placed on my desk and got out of my office. I walked slowly while thinking about what to expect during the meeting. May be it would just be another boring one about how to treat the 'important' patient right.

2 hours later, the meeting was over. It was supposed to be a meeting about a brain surgery but somehow later, it ended up being the discussion about the man's social status and wealth, about how it could affect our hospital's reputation. I was half listening and tolerated the rest of them and finally excused myself to do my rounds as a valid excuse/reason to leave. I didn't even have the time to have lunch with Mai.

Later, when it was time to knock off, I was busy packing my bag and was rushing to go off. I had promised Mai to send Mikoto and her to the airport. I got out from my office and ran to the elevator. I got into it and pressed the button a few times. Just when the door opened again at my floor, I dashed out and a kid happened to bump into me, or I had accidentally bumped into her. I couldn't remember, I was in a rush.

The little girl fell to the ground and I quickly knelt before her to see if she had injured herself. I was surprised to see that she had the same color of eyes and hair just like mine.

"I'm so sorry, little girl. Are you ok?" I asked her and was worried if she would cry. I looked around but there was no adult accompanying this young girl and she seemed to be around 5 years old.

"I'm ok. Sorry, I was running." She answered me and stood up. She seemed to be a strong girl. I smiled at her and noticed that she had the same emerald eyes as mine. I wondered if I ever have a daughter, might be she would look like this little girl.

"Oh, from who? Where are your parents?" I asked her nicely. Just when she was about to answer me, someone called her.

"Chinatsu!" She turned to where the source of voice came from and ran away from me. A man approached her and immediately carried her up to hug her. The child looked almost like him but I better confirmed if he was the father.

"Good evening, Sir, is this your daughter? I am Dr. Kuga and I'm a doctor here." I approached the man to introduce myself.

"Hello, Dr. Kuga. Yes, she is. I am Kenichi Kaneshiro. Sorry if my daughter had caused you any problem." He said to me politely.

"No, Mr. Kaneshiro, it's my fault, I didn't see her just now when I rushed out from the elevator. I'm sorry." I apologized to him. He seemed to be a good father by the way he handled the child.

"It's not all your fault, Dr. Kuga, she was just being playful and was running away from me. Anyways, we shall not take any more of your time. Have a good day. Say goodbye to Dr. Kuga, Chinatsu." He told his daughter, she waved goodbye to me shyly and I smiled at both of them before I suddenly remembered Mai. I said my goodbyes and rushed to my car.

Mai and Mikoto were already outside of my car. I apologized to both of them and drove them to the airport. Luckily, we made it on time and they managed to check in. But before checking in, Mai still had to nag at me regarding my meals and work.

Mikoto and I had to pushed her into the checkpoint. They were finally gone, one week without Mai and Mikoto. It would be a little lonely but I am sure that I could manage for a week.

**TBC**

**What do you think? Pls r & r, don't be shy…**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Mai Hime and Mai Otome, don't belong to me, they belong to Sunrise. This is just a fan fiction. The characters in this story is not related to any living people unless by purely coincidental. Please don't sue me.**

**Yurianimeotaku: Thank you for your patience.**

**Thank you to those who had read and reviewed this story. I am glad a few of you got the hint on the previous chapter… I hope you will enjoy this chapter.**

Natsuki POV:

The next day, I woke up early, thinking in my bed before doing my daily routine. 'Sigh' It was the same everyday, me alone in this big apartment, day in and day out, I left the apartment alone and came back to an empty apartment. Many people wanted to get to know me but I wasn't interested, I preferred a low profile life. They only knew me as one of the best surgeons in Japan but not as the real Natsuki Kuga. I was glad I had my true friends around me, no matter how crazy, some of them could be.

As usual, after doing what I did everyday, I left for work. Driving down the street, watching people crossed the roads and listening to the radio. I couldn't wait to reach the hospital.

I drove into the parking lot and walked towards the elevator when I suddenly remembered the little girl from yesterday. I wondered if I would be seeing her around. I hated to see children being ill and weak in the hospital. I hoped I wouldn't see her in any of the children's ward.

I walked into my office and felt different because Mai wasn't there to greet me as usual in the morning.

'Sigh'

I started to switch on my laptop and worked on those medical reports. I looked at my schedule and found that I had a meeting in 2 hours. I sighed and sat back in my chair.

2 hours later, I gathered all my reports and walked out from my office to go to the boardroom. Before I reached the boardroom, I saw a familiar chestnut hair across the corridors. I was about to walk past the boardroom to head towards the person until one of my colleagues called me and I had to enter the meeting.

'It must have been my imagination.' I told myself.

It could be the recent thoughts about her that was why I was just imagining things. I walked into the room and sat in one of the chairs, waiting for the rest to enter.

A few minutes later, my senior doctors and a man entered the room. He looked familiar when I saw him, suddenly I recalled that he was the little girl's father. His daughter was fine, it was him who was the patient of this hospital. But still, it was sad to find out that the little girl's father was seriously ill.

"Mr. Kaneshiro?" I said out his name and was surprised to see him.

"Hello, Dr. Kuga, it is nice to see you again." He smiled at me and it was obvious that the rest were staring at both of us.

"Mr. Kaneshiro! What are you doing here?" I asked him after recovering from my surprise.

"Well, I'll a patient in this hospital." He informed me and I was quite shocked to see how calm he was. He was the man that they were all talking about in the meeting yesterday, the man who was going to be in the brain surgery.

" Er hem. I'm glad to see that both of you know each other. Dr. Kuga will be your surgeon, Mr. Kaneshiro and she is one of the best in Japan. Let's start this meeting, shall we?" One of my senior doctors said to everyone and all of us got seated for it to start.

During the meeting, I looked at Mr. Kaneshiro and I couldn't believe a rich man like him, didn't put on airs at all. He seemed to be a nice man and I felt sad that we had to meet in this kind of situation. I hoped we could make him well again.

Then, he looked at me and smiled at me, immediately I looked down, blushing away, in front of my medical files.

After the meeting, Mr. Kaneshiro excused himself from the rest of other doctors and approached me.

"Dr. Kuga, can we talk in private?" He asked me nicely.

"Sure, let's go to my office." He nodded and followed me into my office.

Upon entering my office, I let him sat on one of my chairs across me to start our discussion.

Before we could start, his phone rang and he answered it. It seemed that he was talking to his wife and informed her where to get to my office. After he had finished, he smiled apologetically at me and I acknowledged it.

"Sorry, that was my wife. She will be reaching here soon." He informed me and I nodded.

"So what is it that you want to know, Mr. Kaneshiro?" I asked him and I hoped I could give him the answers.

"I would like to know the chances of my survival, Dr. Kuga. I hope you will be honest with me." He said to me and looked into my eyes. I took a deep breath and tried to answer him in the most professional manner.

"There are some percentages of survival…" Before I could finish, he cut me short.

"80 percent survival during surgery but I will only live for little longer on borrowed time." He answered his own question and I stared at him with my mouth opened like a fish.

"I know my chances, Dr. Kuga. I had thorough medical tests in States. With or without the surgery, I'm still going to die." He informed me with a calm expression.

"But why do you want to come here to do your surgery, Mr. Kaneshiro?" I asked him seriously. I was shocked that this rich man would want me as his surgeon and he knew his health situation.

"Because you are one of the best in Japan and even though I was brought up in States, I was born here. My wife is Japanese too but she grew up in Japan. I want to spend my last moments in my birthplace. I hope you will keep this private and confidential, not even to my family. Many issues will arise if someone outside from the hospital knows." He said the last sentence sadly.

"I will do my best, Mr. Kaneshiro. Please do not give up." I tried to comfort him.

"I will not. But there are some things that are beyond our control, Dr. Kuga. Without the surgery, I may die anytime but I accept whatever the result is." He told me confidently.

He amazed me, he was still calm even though he knew that his time was going to be up. I had seen worst situations than this, where patients would need to go for serious counseling. I wondered what made him strong.

'Knock, knock'

The knocking on my door surprised both of us, I told whoever it was to enter. I saw the same little girl entering my office, followed by her mother. I was shocked when I saw a familiar face standing behind the child. The child's mother looked at her husband and me, I noticed that her eyes went wide for a second but she went back to being calm again. I was trying hard to be very calm.

'Shizuru?! Her mother?! His wife?!' I shouted in my head. My face turned pale and I was glad that I was sitting in my chair, I could faint at that very moment.

The little girl ran towards her father and she sat on his lap, smiling at me.

"Hello, Dr. Kuga. So you are my Papa's doctor?" She asked me innocently.

When I heard the child's voice, immediately I looked away from her mother and smiled at the little girl.

"Hi, Chinatsu, yes, I am your Papa's doctor."

"Dr. Kuga, this is Shizuru, my wife that I had mentioned earlier." He introduced the two of us.

Slowly, I stood up from my chair and walked over to her. Shizuru smiled and looked calm as I forced myself to act more natural. I brought my hand up to shake hands with her and she slowly took my hand to return it. Her husband and daughter were smiling, looking at both of us.

TBC

Finally they meet in this chapter…

Till next time, ja ne. Please r & r.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: Mai Hime and Mai Otome, don't belong to me, they belong to Sunrise. This is just a fan fiction. The characters in this story is not related to any living people unless by purely coincidental. Please don't sue me.**

**Thank you to the wonderful reviewers and readers. I'm filled with plenty of inspirations and encouragement by your reviews. Quite a few of you have good imaginations to how the story goes. We shall see… I hope you will like this new chapter. **

"Hello, Natsuki." Shizuru greeted me and I couldn't believe that I was hearing that voice and seeing her face again. She still looked beautiful and graceful as ever.

'Baka! She is my patient's wife for crying out loud!' I scolded myself mentally. I did my best to stay calm, the trick that I had learnt throughout the years.

"Hi, Shizuru." I greeted her back.

"Ah! Both of you know each other. That is great!" Her husband smiled at both of us.

"Yes, we went to the same high school, Ken." She looked at him and smiled. My heart felt the worst pain ever. But I carried on with my charade.

"Ara, Natsuki is a doctor now. I'm happy for you." She took a seat next to her HUSBAND and teased me as I blushed even more. After many years and this woman could still make me blush.

"Yes, Mr. Kaneshiro, your wife was the ex kaichou in high school." I informed him.

"And Natsuki was a regular at the student council's room." She teased me and I blushed, returning back to my seat.

"Haha! I can see both of you must have been good friends back in school. How come you didn't attend our wedding or any of our celebrations, Dr. Kuga?" Her husband asked me while he was observing us. I was stumped for an answer.

'She was tired of waiting and left me before I could come forward with my true feelings for her.' I thought that answer could kill me.

"She was a senior in school and graduated before me. Then we lost contact due to our different lives." I answered him calmly.

"I see. How about having dinner with us tonight, Dr. Kuga? I will not take no as your answer." Dinner with them?! Here I am, trying to digest that Shizuru was married to him with a kid and he just invited me to have dinner with them!

"Well, I have a lot of work to be done so I'm afraid I have to decline your kind offer." I told him and smiled at him. He seemed to accept the reason I gave him fortunately.

"I believe Natsuki will have time for us another day, Ken." Shizuru told her husband. I guessed she could have relief after I declined him.

Suddenly, Chinatsu got off from her father's lap and came near me. She pulled my arm so that I would bend down to her height.

"I like you, Dr. Kuga, please come." She whispered to my left ear and pulled away to give me her puppy eyes. My eyes widened at her behavior, this kid sure knew how to change my mind.

Urgh! Not the puppy eyes! She was so adorable. Her parents looked at both of us and Mr. Kaneshiro spoke again.

"Haha, it seems that our daughter likes you Dr. Kuga. Come on, you need to eat at a point of time, right."

"I guess, I will have to say yes to dinner." I reluctantly agreed. Chinatsu hugged me and went to stand next to her mother who was smiling lovingly at her daughter.

"Excellent! I will give you the address to where we are staying. Let me tell you that Shizuru is a good cook." He said happily to me.

'Yes, I know, she had cooked for me many times before…' I thought sadly to myself.

"Dr. Kuga? Are you ok?" He asked me worriedly as I was staring at my file on my desk and was thinking back about those fond memories.

"Huh? Oh yes, I am, was just thinking about some work." I answered him and was embarrassed to be caught in deep thoughts.

"Here is the address and we will see you at 7pm for dinner. See you later." He got out from the chair and his family followed suit.

"See you later, Natsuki." Shizuru said before she left the office with her family. I smiled at her and nodded at her.

After they had left, I slumped back in my seat and took a deep breath. I looked at the address that Mr. Kaneshiro had given me. This was going to be very difficult for me. Me, as the doctor to the man who married the woman of my dreams.

Sad to say that my rival in love was a nice man, all the more I would have to do my best to save him.

'Mai, where are you when I need you now?' I thought sadly to myself.

Later, I decided to get off work earlier to change at my home. At home, I was thinking of what to wear. 'Why are you thinking so much?! This is just a dinner! You have no one to impress! She is married with a kid for God's sake!' I was fighting with myself mentally.

A part of me was feeling excited about seeing Shizuru again but another part was feeling very upset to be seeing her again as someone's wife.

I decided to go for something casual and just put on my jacket before going out. I reached their place earlier and told the guards outside of their home that Mr. Kaneshiro expected me. It seemed that they had been informed about my visit and they let me in.

I drove into the property and was amazed by how big the whole area was. I had passed by a huge garden with different types of flowers. I knew Shizuru had a thing for flowers.

Finally I came to the parking space in front of their home. It was big enough to fit another ten cars. I got out of my car and looked at their home, it was a huge mansion. I was glad that Shizuru was living comfortably with her family.

I came to the mansion's door and pressed the doorbell. A short moment later, an old man opened it and greeted me, he could be the butler. Then, he led me to the living room and I saw the room was decorated beautifully with red roses.

I took a seat and waited after the old man had left me. Suddenly, I heard some fast steps from behind me and I turned and saw Chinatsu who excitedly ran towards me to jump on me.

"Dr. Kuga!" She said my name happily.

"Oomph! Hi, Chinatsu, you are so energetic for a little girl." Luckily, I managed to catch her and she was laughing when I did that.

"Ha ha, I'm happy to see you. Mama and Papa will be coming soon." She informed me as she took a seat next to me after I released her, holding my hand.

"Chinatsu, you are being naughty again by running around in our home." A calm Kyoto accented voice came from behind. I turned my head and saw Shizuru standing at the doorway. I slowly stood up and Chinatsu stood up next to me, still holding my hand.

"Hello, Natsuki. Thank you for coming." She said as she approached me and I felt nervous about it. 'Baka! Stay cool.' I scolded myself in my head.

"Hi, Shizuru, thanks for inviting me." I told her.

"Well, you should thank my husband, he was the one who invited you. And Chinatsu too." She said the last word with a smile to her daughter. I knew that double meaning to her sentence and my heart felt the burning of fire as I looked into her eyes. I refused to show to her that she managed to hurt my feelings.

"I will." I told her and let the little girl got to her mother. A moment of silence followed but not long as her husband entered the room.

"Hello, Dr. Kuga, thank you for coming to our humble home." He approached me and we shook hands. Shizuru observed us and quietly excused herself and her daughter to the dining room.

"Good evening, Mr. Kaneshiro." I was glad that he came to break the uncomfortable silence.

"Have a seat and tea first before we start on dinner. I'm happy to see you being early." He told me and we sat for tea before dinner. Chatting away about unimportant things and it seemed that he was a nice person to talk to. I was happy that Shizuru had married this man.

We cut short on our chat when the butler interrupted us to have dinner. I was not feeling quite right about having dinner with Shizuru and her family, I took a few deep breaths discreetly and followed them to the dining room. I hoped that the dinner would not kill me.

**TBC **

**What is going to happen later? Poor Natsuki. Tsk, tsk,tsk…**

**I promised the story will get better as it goes on…**

**Pls r & r.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Mai Hime and Mai Otome, don't belong to me, they belong to Sunrise. This is just a fan fiction. The characters in this story is not related to any living people unless by purely coincidental. Please don't sue me.**

**Thank you so much for all your kind reviews. It fueled my writing spirit within me. Some of the reviews made me blushed and some made me laughed. **

**To those anonymous reviews:**

**Himex7: You are sharp to notice the names. I'm impressed. Thank you for loving this story. From what you wrote in your review, your English is good enough to me.**

**Kae: I hope you will like this new chapter. Thanks for your past reviews.**

**I'm amazed that there were so many predictions in your recent reviews, we will only find out as the story unfolds itself. I hope you will enjoy this chapter. Happy reading.**

When we entered the dining room, I saw the long table was full of different varieties of food. Shizuru could have improved a lot in her cooking, I smiled sadly as I thought about how much I missed it.

Suddenly, I was interrupted from my thoughts when I felt something or someone was hugging me by my waist. I looked down and saw Chinatsu hugging me.

"Let's eat, Dr. Kuga!" She said happily and was smiling away. I nodded at her and she pulled my hand to the dining table.

Mr. Kaneshiro sat at the end of the table and Shizuru was already seated at the other end. Chinatsu was sitting across me and was smiling happily at me. She was a cute little girl.

"How old are you, Chinatsu-chan?" I asked her as I remembered that I never got the chance to talk to her.

"Dr. Kuga, please call me Chinatsu and no chan. I'm eight years old." She said proudly and showed me her eight fingers. All of us laughed when I heard that.

"Alright, Chinatsu. Wow! You're a big girl." I teased her and she nodded away at what I said. At the corner of my eyes, I noticed Shizuru was observing my interaction with her daughter.

"Well then, let's start eating, I hope you will enjoy it, Dr. Kuga." Mr. Kaneshiro said and picked up his chopsticks to eat.

"Yes, I believe I will." I answered him.

"So, how was Shizuru doing back in school? I'm very interested to know since you're here, Dr. Kuga." He asked me and looking lovingly at Shizuru who was busy drinking her tea.

"She was very popular and well liked by all the students in the school." I answered him calmly and ate my sushi.

"Then I assume that you must be one of them who liked her too." He said jokingly and laughed. I nearly choked on my sushi and everyone looked at me. He asked me if I was ok and I nodded my head as I took my glass of water to drink it.

"I'm ok, just funny to hear you said that. I was a little naughty when I was in school and always had to go for detention." I explained to him and saw Shizuru smiled her fake smile and continued eating.

" Ha ha, I see. No wonder, Shizuru said that you were a regular at the student council." We laughed and we continued eating. Dinner went by peacefully without any problem after that.

After dinner, Mr. Kaneshiro led me to his study room and said that he needed to discuss something with me. We went into the room and I took a seat at one of the couch.

"Now, Dr. Kuga, I hope that you will keep your promise. Shizuru thinks that this is just a brain surgery where I will survive after doing it."

"You have my word." I assured him but I didn't expect was about what he said next.

"I'm sorry that I had to remind you again, Dr. Kuga. I'm not sure how close you were with my wife."

'Closer than you ever knew' I thought to myself sadly.

"I do not know what happened between the two of you but let me share a little secret with you." He said to me.

"Today, I just realized that she had named Chinatsu after you, Dr. Kuga. I may not be brought up in Japan but I understand the Japanese language very well, all thanks to my late parents. And I know Japanese names will have meanings behind each one of them." He explained to me and I was having a bad feeling about where this conversation was going to lead us. I tried my very best to stay very calm and braced myself for the worst to come.

"In your name, it means 'Summer Hope', and as for my Chinatsu's name, it means ' A thousand summers'. I had suspected both of you were close friends. I can't say much about what happened in the past between the two of you and why you were not at our wedding or celebrations. But I can tell that you're a very nice person, Dr. Kuga and I trust my instinct on this. I hope both of you will become friends again and I hope to… leave this world peacefully." He said to me sincerely. I was shocked and speechless. I didn't know what to say to him.

"What do you mean, Mr. Kaneshiro?" Was all that I could say to him.

"Dr. Kuga, another reason why I brought Shizuru back to Japan, was because I want her to be with her close ones especially after I had passed away. Back in States, she didn't really mix around much with people. She is a good wife, I do admit that and I want what is best for her. Please promise me that both of you will be friends again." He told me and looked at me sadly.

"Mr. Kaneshiro, I…" I couldn't continue as Shizuru came into the room to bring us some tea.

"Ara, I see that the two of you can get along very well. I'm jealous, Ken. Natsuki was not that friendly to people back in school." She said to the two of us as she put the tray that she carrying on the coffee table.

"That was in the past, Shizuru, people do change especially after ten years. I can see that you changed too after being married with a kid." I replied to her and purposely smiled at her. She smiled through her mask at me and I knew that look, she was shocked by my answer but she stayed calm.

'Don't play games with me anymore, Shizuru. I'm no longer the Natsuki you had left ten years ago.' I thought to myself and drank the tea.

"Are you free tomorrow, Dr. Kuga?" Mr. Kaneshiro asked me suddenly.

"Well, I'm not working tomorrow and there is no surgery scheduled for tomorrow." I answered him and was beginning to be afraid of what he was going to do next.

"Ah! That reminds me to inform you, Shizuru, I can't go out with you tomorrow because of an important business meeting. Dr. Kuga, I hope you can accompany my wife and kid for an outing." He said to me and looked into my eyes to tell me not to reject him.

"Ken, you don't have to bother, Natsuki, I'm sure she will be very busy as a doctor and wants to settle some things on her rest day." Shizuru told her husband and looked at me, expecting me to decline them.

'Great! I'm stuck in the middle.' I thought to myself.

"Well, I thought the two of you could catch up during the outing. Ten years away from Japan is a long time for you Shizuru. I may worry about you getting lost if you go out by yourself. And you never like any bodyguard to follow you around. So, Dr. Kuga I hope you can do this favor for me." He said to us and looked at me again.

"I will take your wife and kid out tomorrow, Mr. Kaneshiro. That is if it is ok with you, Shizuru." ' Stupid me! Why can't I say 'No' to this guy! I shouted in my head.

'It is because he knows that he is dying, you Baka!' Another voice in my head shouted back.

"Ara, Natsuki is being kind. I can't refuse you then." She answered me in her usual tone to her fan girls back in school. I just smiled at her and told myself not to be affected by her.

'I'm just doing this man a favor, that's all, not more than that.' I told myself in my head.

" Great! Since both of you agreed to it, I'm not worried about the outing tomorrow. Thank you, Dr. Kuga." He said to us and drank his tea happily.

"No worries, Mr. Kaneshiro, I will meet her tomorrow at 12pm for lunch. Is that alright with you, Shizuru?" I asked her nicely. 'Two can play the game, Shizuru.' I thought.

"Ara, Natsuki already set the time for Chinatsu and me so I guess it's ok with me too." She answered and smiled her fake smile at me.

"Good, that settles then, I have to make a move now. Thank you for dinner, Mr. Kaneshiro and Shizuru." I stood up and walked to the door.

"Let me see you out, Dr. Kuga." Mr. Kaneshiro said to me and I nodded at him. Shizuru bid her goodbye to me and was busy clearing the coffee table in the room.

"Thank you, Dr. Kuga, I really appreciate it." He said to me when we reached the door of the mansion for me to go home.

"But why, Mr. Kaneshiro?" I asked him.

"I already explained to you earlier, Dr. Kuga. I hope you can promise me, please. Treat it as a dead man's wish." He said to me sadly as we walked to my car.

"I…I promise you, Mr. Kaneshiro." I promised him hesitantly and he smiled gratefully to me. I got into my car and waved at him. Many thoughts came into my head while I was driving. I couldn't wait to get home and have a good rest. I hoped tomorrow would not be difficult for me to handle.

TBC

Do you like it? The next chapter will be longer and I might take a little more time to perfect it before the update and also because of my work commitments. However, it will be better…

Till then, Ja ne.

Please r & r…


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: Mai Hime and Mai Otome, don't belong to me, they belong to Sunrise. This is just a fan fiction. The characters in this story is not related to any living people unless by purely coincidental. Please don't sue me.**

**Himex7: You're scaring me, are you a Psychic? You seemed to be able to tell my moves…. ;p**

**To all of you who had reviewed, I really appreciate them. My apologies to all readers for the late update due to my work. However, to make up for it, I had prepared this long chapter. I hope all of you will enjoy this new chapter.**

**Shizuru's POV**

I had cleared the cups onto the tray and left it on the coffee table. I walked to the window to look out into the night. I looked down and couldn't helped but noticed Natsuki's car and took a deep breath.

Why did I see her again after all these years? She seemed changed but her eyes seemed to me to be telling me that she was almost the same person who I had left years ago.

After seeing her today, all those past thoughts and feelings that I had buried deep within my heart resurfaced and I tried my best to hide them. Why Natsuki? Why did we meet again?

Then I saw Ken and you chatting outside of your car, I wondered what were the two of you were talking about. I sighed and turned away from the window when I saw you drove away.

I took the tea tray with me and went to the kitchen. I left it in the sink for the maid to clean tomorrow. It was already late but I decided to go to Chinatsu's bedroom. I entered her room and noticed that she had fallen asleep. I sat next to her sleeping form and gently stroked her cheek. She looked so much like you and reminded me so much of you even though she wasn't yours to begin with. But I was glad to see her grow up to be stronger each day just like you, back in the past.

**Flashback**

10 years ago.

Riinggg! Riiingg! Riinggg! Riiingg!

I answered the phone in my apartment, I just came out from the shower and was wondering who was calling me.

"Hello." I answered politely.

"Hello, Shizuru, this is your mother." I was surprised that my mother would call me in the middle of the night.

"Hi, mom, I'm surprised that you are calling me, it is 11pm now. What happen?"

"Shizuru, your father had a heart attack and I hope that you will come over to the States as soon as possible." My mother told me and was crying over the phone.

"Mom, is he alright now? Where is he now?" I asked her and tears started to flow down my cheeks.

"He is in the hospital now. The doctors are operating on him. Please come soon. Our driver in Japan will pick you up and send you to the airport. Once you arrived, our driver over here, will fetch you to the hospital, alright."

"Yes, mom. I will come as soon as I can." I told her and hung up. I went to sit on my couch and tried to recover from the shocking news. I had to pack all my things and fly over to States. I slowly stood up and walked into my bedroom to pack. Suddenly the phone rang again, and I hoped it wasn't any bad news.

I took a deep breath before answering and realized whom it was over at the other line.

"Hello." Natsuki said to me.

""Can we meet?" Natsuki asked me and I could sense that you were nervous. Why Natsuki? Why now?

"Natsuki… It's already late… How about another day?" I said softly to Natsuki. I'm just not prepared to handle you now.

"No! You always say another day and when I call you again you will always give the same answer, Shizuru! I want to meet you tonight and I don't care if it's late!" She shouted over the phone. 'Please Natsuki, I don't need this now.' I thought sadly.

"Natsuki…Are you drunk? Please, let's talk about this another day." I could sense that she was not who she was normally.

"No! I will be coming over right now." She said to me and I knew that she was stubborn.

I sighed and took a deep breath before answering her.

"Ok, where do you want to meet?"

"I will see you at the park near your place, I will be there in 30 minutes."

"Ok." We hung up and I got changed to meet her.

It is midnight by the time I reach the park. I saw Natsuki sitting in near a tree. It is cold tonight. You look tired but you immediately straightened up when you see me.

I smiled and walked towards you. You let me sit next to you and told me that you need to talk to me.

I took a deep breath and asked you to start.

"Shizuru, why are you treating me like this now?" Natsuki said sadly to me.

"It is for your own good, Natsuki. You know how I feel about you but how about you? What do you feel, Natsuki?" I asked her and looked directly into her eyes. She looked away. My heart already knew the answer.

"Shizuru… You know that I have always treated you like a good friend… A close friend."

"A friend… Yes, you see me just as a friend…" The tears in my eyes threatened to fall but I refused to let them.

I stood up and was about to walk away until I heard Natsuki said to me again.

"Shizuru, I am sorry."

I turned around and told her, "It's too late to apologize. Goodbye, Natsuki."

I left her in the park and I walked all the way home.

I waited for her for a while but I couldn't do anything much now, my father needed me and I had to go. Upon reaching my home, I packed all my things and tried to sleep but I couldn't. I didn't sleep the whole night when I finally rose from my bed and got changed for the driver to arrive. When the driver arrived, he sent me to the airport where I took a last look behind me before I checked in. I wished you happiness, Natsuki. I'm sorry and I will always love you.

**End of flashback**.

'Knock, knock' There were soft knocking on the door and I was startled.

I turned around and saw Ken standing at the door. He was smiling lovingly at me and held out his hand for me to take hold of. I smiled at him and held his hand as we got out of Chinatsu's bedroom silently. Slowly, the two of us entered our bedroom. We sat on our bed and I decided to break the silence.

"What do you think you are doing, Ken?" I asked him and I knew that he sensed it coming. I wanted to know what was up his sleeves.

"What, Shizuru? I thought both of you are friends." He answered me calmly.

"Yes, but why her? I do have other friends in Japan." I told him and was beginning to lose my patience.

"Friends? Like who, Shizuru?" He asked me sarcastically. My eyes widened at his words and looked away. He continued his talk to me.

"When we got married, I didn't see any of your friends from Japan at the wedding reception, instead I only saw your parents' business acquaintances and relatives. Anyways, I don't understand why you are so against Dr. Kuga. She seems to be a nice person and I know that I can trust her. So if you can come up with a good reason why you refuse to go out tomorrow, then you better do as I say. I will be very busy to attend to you and I hope you will understand."

He grabbed my shoulders and made me looked at him. I was shocked, Ken had never told me off before. When he saw the shock on my face, he seemed to soften and kissed my forehead. Then he left me alone in our bedroom and I started to cry softly.

**End Of Shizuru's POV.**

**Kenichi Kaneshiro's POV**

I left Shizuru in our bedroom. I felt sad that she could be hurt by what I said to her. But I had to do it, I'm going to die soon and I refused to let her carried all the burdens on her shoulders. I went into study room and called my assistant to meet me tomorrow.

After calling him, I sat all alone in the room, thinking about one particular woman. My past thoughts came into my head.

**Flashback**

I was on my way to see one of my late father's old friends from Japan. He was in the hospital and I decided to pay the old man a visit.

I was alone in this world after both of my parents had passed away since I was 18 years old. I had to carried out my duties in the business after I graduated. Recently, I had met my father's old friend before when he came to my office to discuss about his business. He could have been in trouble since he could have a heart attack because of the business.

I arrived at the hospital and went into his room. As I entered, I noticed that he was sleeping but I was surprised to see the deepest red eyes staring at me and asked me who I was.

I tried to say a word but no word seemed to be coming out. Here I was, a 31 years old man who had went out with many women and experienced different types of women, felt nervous in front of this young and beautiful woman.

She giggled at me and I regained my composure and greeted her.

"Hi, my name is Kenichi Kaneshiro, I am the son of one your father's old friends." I introduced myself to her.

"Hello, I am Shizuru Fujino, nice to meet you." She answered me in her melodious voice and I knew that I had fallen for her. Our short introduction was disrupted when her mother came into the room. I greeted her mother and sat in one of the chairs. We talked for a short while before I had leave. Before leaving, I told Shizuru that I hoped I would be seeing her again and she gave a sweet smile in return. I wondered what was in that smile, even though she was smiling at me, I couldn't help but noticed the sadness in her eyes.

Maybe, her father was ill, that was why. I decided to push the thought away and went away.

The next few months, Shizuru and me went out together, thanks to her parents' persistence to make us be together. I knew Mr. Fujino wanted me to help him in his business but I sincerely liked Shizuru for who she was. We had gotten to know each other better and she was surprised to see a rich man like me preferred motorcycles to cars. I was surprised that she could ride with me.

We rode on my Harley Davidson to everywhere we went to. Shizuru always looked happy but somehow I could feel there was something about her that was well hidden.

After a year of dating, we finally got married and her parents were very happy. I was not sure about Shizuru but she didn't voice out any objection about marrying me. So, I assumed that she agreed to it.

On our wedding night, I found out about what was going on in our lives. I found out that she had married me because of her parents. I was very angry and disappointed after I heard the truth from her. I left her all alone on that night but the next morning, I came back and saw her sleeping on the bed. She looked so innocent and fragile.

The whole night of thinking, had made me to come to a decision that we would stay married and we would be friends if that was what Shizuru wanted.

When she woke up, she was shocked to see me and I assured her that I wouldn't touch her without her permission and I told her about my decision. She took it well and told me how much she felt for me as a friend. My heart hurt badly but I didn't mind having her as my close friend. I was alone before but now at least I would have an honest friend, who was also my wife.

We agreed to sleep on the same bed, in the same room to avoid any unwanted gossips. I didn't touch her as promised. This went on for several months and Shizuru trusted me so much. That was until one day, we went to a business party and I was very happy because of new profits coming into my business.

Both Shizuru and me had gotten so drunk that we were shocked to see each other the next morning. Both of us were naked and tried to recall what we did but we couldn't recall much. But I did remember her calling out a name, a woman's name but I didn't tell her about it.

A month later, she found out that she was pregnant and was very upset. I apologized many times to her and she forgave me by telling me that what had happened, had already happened. We didn't have sex ever since that night except for some kisses between a man and a woman, nothing more than that. I was just contented to have her by my side.

About 9 months later, my baby daughter came into my world. I was very happy that I finally have a complete family. Shizuru wanted to named her Chinatsu and even though I suspected her reason for doing so, I respected her decision. I wanted the woman I loved to be happy even though I knew I was the second best to the person she had left.

As time went by, people looked at our family as the perfect family but they didn't know the secrets behind this happy family. Shizuru and I remained as close friends and she respected me as her husband and followed me to business functions. I appreciated her companionship and the beautiful daughter she had given birth for me.

I never asked her about the name that I had heard from her. I suspected that this person was the reason why she had hidden her pain deep within her heart. As long as our family were happy, I was fine by whatever secrets she may keep.

Later, curiosity came back after I found out about my illness. I kept the seriousness of my illness from Shizuru because I was very angry at my life and refused to admit defeat to this person who I had never met. I was afraid that Shizuru might go back to this person after she knew about my illness and how much longer I would survive.

I told my assistant to do some investigations on Shizuru's past and found out a few interesting things about the person that Shizuru could still be loving.

A few days later, I managed to find out everything and I got to see her picture and was shocked to see that she bore the strong resemblance of me. We had almost the same features but the same eyes. She was the female version of me and I was speechless for the second time in my life. Fortunately, I knew that I was the only child in my family.

Now I knew the reason for Shizuru to stare at me when we first met when her father was in the hospital. Our daughter, Chinatsu, looked like me too and I saw the strong motherly love from Shizuru towards our daughter.

I stared hard at the picture and threw it on the desk. All the secret that Shizuru had hidden from me, all of them were right before my eyes now. I picked up the report about this person and read about her. She was a successful doctor now and I stood up and threw the report against one of the walls in my study room. I tried to calm myself ad got out from the room to take some fresh air.

I walked into our garden and smiled when I saw Shizuru who was busy with Chinatsu, trying to make her sit down to eat her lunch. I walked towards them and they looked happy to see me. We had fun throughout the whole afternoon in our big garden. Their smiles made me weak and I wasn't ready to give all these up, just because my time was coming soon.

A week later, after much thought, I decided that I had to make Shizuru happy especially after I was gone. I knew there would be people who would want to harm our daughter and her because of my money. I should protect Shizuru and Chinatsu from these people, even from Shizuru's parents. It was because of them, Shizuru forced herself to marry me.

I knew my medical condition and came up with a plan to get know more of this woman who had taken Shizuru's heart a long time ago and was still keeping it with her. If Shizuru could love such a person, there could be something about her that made her worth it.

I hoped she would be worth it and I intended to find that out soon.

**End of flashback.**

"Ah!" My head hurts again, I stopped thinking and held it with both hands. I took out my medicine and drank from the mug on my desk.

"Natsuki Kuga." I said softly to myself. The only woman who could make Shizuru happy. Shortly, I fell asleep with my head resting on my desk.

**TBC**

**Phew! My fingers couldn't stop typing until all these were done. More drama to come so be prepared.**

**Thank you for reading. Pls r & r.**


	7. A start?

**Disclaimer: Mai Hime and Mai Otome, don't belong to me, they belong to Sunrise. This is just a fan fiction. The characters in this story is not related to any living people unless by purely coincidental. Please don't sue me.**

**_Himex7: You're welcome! I will be updating more drama and love into this story. Thank you for your kind review. _**

**_Kae: Thank you for your reviews._**

**_Afan: Yes, you can put the blame on me. ;) Thanks for the review._**

**_Thank you, to all of you who are still reading this story. I'm happy to see some people do like my story. Bows down before all of you. Since I will be very busy for the next few days, I wish all the readers a 'Happy Valentine's Day'. _**

**Natsuki's POV**

Riing! Riing! Riing!

Aargh! I was disturbed from my sleep on my precious rest day. The stupid phone had been ringing for more than 5 minutes, I think. I was blindly reaching for it from under my covers, I knew it was on my bedside table.

I looked at the called ID and knew that it was an overseas call so decided to answer it.

"Hello." I answered in my sleepy and irritated voice.

"Hey, Natsuki! How are you doing?" It was Mai on the phone, sounding too chirpy to my liking.

"Why are you calling me so early, Mai?" I asked her and was starting to feel like shooting her when she comes back to Japan.

"Oh, come on! It's only early evening over here." She told me.

"That means it's early morning here, you Baka!" I screamed at her and I could tell that she wasn't offended by her laughter.

"Ok, ok. Sheesh, I'm just checking on you to find out how you have been doing. This is what I get in return."

"I'm fine, thanks." I blushed, knowing that she was just being concerned for me.

"Good. I hope nothing much happened when I wasn't around."

"Err… Well, nothing much." I didn't know how to inform her that Shizuru was back.

"Are you sure? You sound like you're hiding something, Natsuki." Mai detected my hesitation to tell her the truth.

"Well… Shizuru is back…" I sat up in my bed to tell her.

"What?! How?! When?!" Mai sounded excited and asking me questions.

"I guess on the day you left for States to visit Takumi and Akira."

"So how are things between the two of you? Did you talk to her? Tell me, Natsuki!"

I could sense Mai was really curious about what was going on.

"Yea, we talked about some stuff but nothing important. She is married to one of my patients and has a kid now…" I was cut short by Mai's outburst.

"What?! How could she do that to you?! Natsuki, are you ok?" Mai was worried.

"I'm ok, no worries, she was just a thing in the past. I got over it a long time ago. No worries, Mai. I met her husband and he is a nice guy and her daughter is a good kid. Today I'm going out with Shizuru and her kid as her husband wants me to accompany them." I told Mai and I knew that deep within me, I was lying about the 'thing in the past'.

"You agreed?" She sounded surprised that I was going out with Shizuru and her kid.

"Yes, he is busy today and I'm just doing the guy a favor and we're all good. So nothing is going to happen, Mai." I tried to assure her.

"Good. Well, I'm glad that you're ok. Listen, I will be back in a few days time so we better have a talk about this ok." She told me before we hung up.

I looked at the clock and noticed that it was only 8am and settled back under the covers, to continue my sleep.

I tried to sleep again but the thoughts about meeting Shizuru later, made me lose my interest to go back to the dreamland. Sighing, I got out of bed and took a shower before breakfast.

After breakfast, I was sitting alone in the living room and was looking at the clock on the wall. It was only 9am now and I was thinking what I should do. I decided to watch TV to pass the time and about an hour later, I was bored again since there was no good programmes on.

So, I changed my clothes and got out from my home to drive around. I didn't know why but I was feeling very restless and I kept thinking about what Mr. Kaneshiro told me yesterday.

I drove around the city and came to a café where I had my coffee until it was about time to meet Shizuru and Chinatsu. I arrived at the mansion and got into their home.

At the door, the butler greeted me, where he led me to the living room. I sat on one of the chairs and waited for the two to meet me.

**End of Natsuki's POV**

"Dr. Kuga!" Chinatsu was the first to arrive and Natsuki stood up from the chair to bend down to hug her when she hugged her.

"Hi, Chinatsu. You seem happy today." Natsuki told her and she nodded with her head on Natsuki's shoulder who was carrying her up on her hip.

Shizuru was standing near the door and Natsuki didn't notice her and she heard what her daughter was saying to Natsuki. She observed the two of them and smiled sadly to herself. How she wished she could be happy with them.

'No! I'm someone else's wife now. I mustn't think like this.' Shizuru thought angrily to herself, she was still standing near the door without the other two noticing.

"I'm happy to see you and Mama told me that you are taking us out today!" She said happily.

"I see. So what do you want to do today?" Natsuki asked her and smiled while she looked into her eyes.

"I don't know. Maybe ice-cream…" She told me and gave Natsuki her puppy eyes.

"Well, I can't say no to that since you're a good girl." Natsuki told her and she hugged her tightly around her neck.

Shizuru decided to step into the room and made her presence known.

"Ara, Chinatsu, are you asking for ice-cream again? Hello, Natsuki." Natsuki looked at the door where she saw Shizuru who was standing and not sure how long she had been there.

"Can we have ice-cream later, Mama, please?" Chinatsu asked Shizuru and gave the same puppy eyes. Shizuru nodded at her and she got down of me and went to hug her mother.

Natsuki looked at the two of them and smiled to myself. It seemed to her that Shizuru was a good mother.

"Shall we go now?" Natsuki asked them even though she wasn't so sure where she should bring them.

"Ara, Natsuki must be excited to leave here and go out with us, Chinatsu." Shizuru told her daughter, both of them were giggling and made Natsuki blushed.

"I'm just keeping my word to your **husband**, Shizuru." She told her with an emphasis on the word 'husband'. Natsuki bit her tongue as she knew that was a little harsh.

Shizuru seemed to stop smiling for a second but her mask was back on again. Her heart felt like being stabbed by an unseen sharp knife.

'I hate it when she put on her fake mask! But why should I care!' Natsuki thought to herself.

"Ara, thank you Natsuki, for taking your time to take us out today. Now, since Natsuki gave her word to my husband, then we better get going now." Shizuru took Chinatsu's hand and got out of the room with Natsuki following them from behind.

Natsuki felt something heavy on her chest but ignored the feeling. She led them into her car and placed Chinatsu safely buckled up in the backseat. Shizuru was sitting in the passenger seat next to her. She started to drive and glanced at Shizuru who was sitting quietly. Chinatsu looked at the two women and felt uncomfortable by the silence.

"So, where do you want to go, Shizuru?" Natsuki spoke to break the silence that she knew was affecting everyone in the car.

"Ara, I thought Natsuki have plans on where to go today." Shizuru answered her.

"Yea, well, I don't know where you wish to go. How about you Chinatsu?" Natsuki turned her head and looked at the young girl for a short while.

"Ice-cream!" Chinatsu squealed excitedly.

"Ok, ok. Then we shall just go to the biggest mall. They have a theme park and ice-cream over there." Natsuki told them and Chinatsu clapped her hands happily.

"Ara, we are going to the theme park too?" Shizuru asked Natsuki.

"Yes, there is a new one and it is in the mall itself. They just built the place a couple of years back." Natsuki informed her and Shizuru smiled at her. Natsuki saw something familiar in her ruby red eyes but it was gone the moment Shizuru noticed her mask was failing her.

They arrived at the biggest mall in Tokyo and Shizuru was happy to see her daughter getting all excited about going to the theme park. Chinatsu held both their hands and walked in between them. Both older women looked down at her and smiled lovingly as they followed the little girl's lead as she happily skipped towards the entrance.

Natsuki purchased the tickets to enter the theme park and she insisted on paying for them even though Shizuru was handing her the money.

"Everything will be on me today, ok." She told Shizuru who smiled to thank her.

"Ara, Natsuki is so sweet. Right, Chinatsu." She looked at her daughter who nodded to agree with her and was smiling at the two.

"Ok, let's go in." Natsuki said, blushing. She led the way and the two followed her closely from behind.

The three of them entered and Chinatsu saw the pony rides and she excitedly asked for a ride. Shizuru allowed her and Natsuki was left alone with Shizuru. They decided to grab a drink from one of the drink counters.

Sitting on the bench nearby, Natsuki was sitting quietly beside Shizuru who was being calm and deep in her thoughts.

'Sitting here with you, brings back many memories, Natsuki." Shizuru thought to herself but broke out of her reverie when she heard Natsuki's voice.

"I never thought that we would meet again, Shizuru. I'm happy to see you married with a happy family. " Natsuki spoke and Shizuru was looking at her calmly, not moving at all, even though her heart told her to hold Natsuki's hand that was next to her own.

"Me, too. I never expect you to be Ken's doctor. Natsuki, I need to request something from you and I know that I may not deserve it but I need it from you." Shizuru said to her.

"What is it?" Natsuki asked her.

" Do you still consider me as your friend?" Shizuru asked her solemnly. Natsuki was taken aback by what she heard and took a few seconds before answering.

"Yes, I still do, Shizuru." She finally answered.

'Even though, you're the one who left me in the first place.' Natsuki said in her head, shortly after her answer.

"Thank you, Natsuki. I'm glad that you still regard me as your friend. As your friend, I hope you will be able to save Ken's life. I will be happy if Natsuki can do that for me." She said and stared into the emerald green eyes that she had longed to see closely again.

"Shizuru, regardless if Mr. Kaneshiro is your husband or a rich guy, I treat all my patients the same way. You don't have to worry about anything." Natsuki tried to assure her even though her heart felt the sharp pain about holding back the real truth from Shizuru.

"Ara, Natsuki is a good and professional doctor. I'm happy to hear that from you." Shizuru smiled at her and Natsuki looked away, blushing.

' This is why I love you, Natsuki, because of your principles and unseen kindness towards people.' Shizuru was thinking about what Ken had said to her the previous night, about Natsuki. About him trusting her. (A/N: Please refer to Chapter 6 if unsure.)

"Anyways, welcome back to Japan." Natsuki held out her hand and Shizuru took it to shake her hand.

'I promised your husband that I would try to be your friend again.' Natsuki sighed and remembered her promise to her patient.

"Mama!" Both of them turned to look towards the direction where the voice came from and saw Chinatsu riding on a pony, waving happily at them. Their conversation was cut short when Chinatsu's ride was over and they decided to grab some lunch.

Natsuki brought the mother and daughter to a restaurant where they served their own homemade mayonnaise. They ordered their food and it came shortly afterwards.

During lunch, Natsuki was quite surprised to see Chinatsu insisted to have her sushi with some mayo. Shizuru couldn't stop the young girl as she refused to eat anything without any mayo so she let her daughter have the mayo, with her own limited quantity, of course. Shizuru wouldn't want her daughter to become obese or unhealthy.

"She like mayo? You allow her to have mayo?" Natsuki asked Shizuru, surprised.

"Ara, Natsuki can eat mayo and my daughter can't?" Shizuru faked her hurt tone.

"No! I mean she is still a young girl." Natsuki tried to explain. 'After many years, I still couldn't see her upset.' Natsuki thought to herself.

"Dr. Kuga, I like mayo and Mama don't allow me to eat it but I don't want to eat without mayo. SO, she let me eat a little of it. How come you are eating your food with a lot of mayo, Dr. Kuga?" Being a smart little girl, Chinatsu spoke suddenly to defend her mother, thinking that Natsuki was bullying her Mama.

"Ha ha. You're right, Chinatsu. Ha ha. Oh by the way, stop calling me Dr. Kuga, I'm your Mama's friend, just call me Natsuki." Natsuki was trying hard to stop blushing after the eight years old girl had made her stumped for answers.

"You have a smart kid here, Shizuru." Natsuki told Shizuru who was amused by the exchange of words between the two.

"Ara, Natsuki, Chinatsu maybe eight years old but she is well advanced beyond her age." Shizuru explained to Natsuki.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Natsuki was confused by what Shizuru had told her.

"Chinatsu's IQ is equivalent to a twelve years old and according to her IQ tests a couple of years back. So she is in the advanced classes for gifted students in her school back in States." Shizuru informed her and smiled proudly at her daughter who was busy eating her food.

"You're lucky, Shizuru." Natsuki told her and were looking at each other quietly until Chinatsu talked to her.

"This mayo is very nice, Natsuki." Chinatsu said happily as she appreciate the mayo taste.

"Yes, it does taste good because it is homemade mayo." Natsuki told Chinatsu proudly and later, they had their desserts, ice creams.

'You don't know how much she reminds me of you, Natsuki. And how much I had been thinking of you when I was pregnant with her. Wishing hard that I would get a little girl just like you for me to love and protect.' Thought Shizuru as she silently looked at both of them enjoying their food and desserts while Shizuru stick to her own food without the mayo. But she enjoyed the freshly brewed green tea in the restaurant.

Later, they went for a few rides together and all other thoughts were gone for the moment. Many people, who had come across them, thought that Chinatsu was Natsuki's daughter. A few passer-bys thought they made a nice happy family.

After the rides, Chinatsu went to play some games with other children and Shizuru allowed her to go, as there was tight security in the area for the children. They would be sitting near the playing area too.

While waiting for Chinatsu to finish her games, the two women sat at a nearby café to have some drinks, ice blended mocha for Natsuki and freshly brewed tea for Shizuru.

They were sitting quietly until Natsuki decided to speak to break the silence between them.

"I miss you, you know." Natsuki told Shizuru who was staring at Natsuki after she spoke.

"Me too." A short moment later, Shizuru finally said to her. They spent their time talking about their lives for the past ten years apart, and realized how much they had changed.

But not everything was shared during their conversation, like Shizuru's reason to marry, having a kid, Natsuki's dates with both genders and their unchanged feelings towards each other were never shared. They thought it was unnecessary since they wouldn't have any future together. They simply wanted to enjoy the time they were given to be with each other, just that moment.

By the time Chinatsu had finished playing with other children, the two women decided to make their way home. Both of them had real fun after a long time of separation and secretly looking forward to their next meeting if it was possible.

Nearby, a limousine was driving away from the theme park.

"I've known you for decades, Ken and this is the first time, I don't know what you're trying to do. Are you sure about doing this?" A man who was in his mid forties spoke to his boss. He had worked under his boss for a long time and were friends since college.

"I'm sure, John. Love is just like flying a kite. Once the string been broken, the kite will fly far away. My love for her is like that, but I hope the kite will fly away to the right wind direction and continue to fly high." Ken told his assistant.

"Wow, that is deep." John muttered to himself. Ken heard that and just ignored the comment.

" It has been a long day, let's go home." Ken said to his assistant and looked out the window as the limousine began to move away from the place.

**TBC.**

A/N: When I was a kid, I loved to fly kites on bright sunny afternoons, even though I hated to get cuts on my fingers by the strings, especially when I was happily flying them.

My best friend told me about the similarities of loving someone and flying kites, she amazed me with many of her theories. Inspired me to write this chapter.

(Thought of sharing that with you all.)

Hope you enjoy reading this chapter. Pls r & r.


	8. Hate, love & denial?

**Disclaimer: Mai Hime and Mai Otome, don't belong to me, they belong to Sunrise. This is just a fan fiction. The characters in this story is not related to any living people unless by purely coincidental. Please don't sue me.**

**As promised, this new chapter is up by the weekend. **

**Thank you so much for all your kind reviews. To all readers, I hope you will continue to enjoy reading this. Enjoy your weekend, everyone.**

They left the theme park in Natsuki's car, while driving, Natsuki thought that it was a good start to become friends with Shizuru again. As she was driving, she had to pass by the place where she always goes to whenever she was upset. Shizuru recognized the place and held both her hands tightly together on her lap. She came here before when Natsuki brought her along when they were still in school together. Natsuki took a deep breath and tried to concentrate on her driving on the narrow road.

'Why did I forget that we will be passing this place when we are going back, I should have taken the other route.' Natsuki thought quietly to herself.

Chinatsu was asleep in the backseat and the two of them were deep in their own thoughts.

'Natsuki, do you remember that you used to bring me along whenever you wanted to come here. I found it peaceful when I came here with you.' Shizuru thought to herself. She was wearing her mask of calmness during the whole ride.

The rest of the ride was quiet except for their minds. When they arrived at Shizuru's place, the butler greeted them outside and informed Natsuki that Kenichi wanted to see her.

Natsuki went into the mansion with the rest and was led into the study room where Kenichi was waiting for her.

"Hello, Dr. Kuga, thank you so much for taking them out today. I hope all of you had fun. Hi, Shizuru, where is Chinatsu?" He said to Natsuki nicely and looked at Shizuru who was behind Natsuki.

"She is sleeping now, Ken. She must have been exhausted." Shizuru said smiling at him.

"Hi, Mr. Kaneshiro, no worries, we had fun just now." She informed him and her heart felt twisted in pain when she saw Kenichi kissed Shizuru on the cheeks. To Natsuki, Shizuru seemed to welcome his affections.

"Great! I'm happy to hear that. Are you going to join us for dinner, Dr. Kuga?" He asked her and held Shizuru's hand in his. Natsuki was watching their movements like a 'wolf' but she did her best to act natural.

"I don't think so, Mr. Kaneshiro. I… I have to leave now to clear some backlog in my work." Natsuki felt the serious need that she had to get out from there as soon as possible.

'Baka! They are husband and wife! They can act in whatever ways they want! Get over it!' Natsuki was screaming in her head.

"I see, well, we will be seeing you soon then. Thank you again, Dr. Kuga, for your time with my wife and kid today." Natsuki nodded at the two and left quietly.

"Natsuki!"

When she was about to reach the door to go out, she heard somebody calling her. She turned around and saw Shizuru who was walking fast but gracefully towards her.

'Always as graceful as ever, Shizuru.' Natsuki said in her mind as she admired Shizuru who was approaching her.

"Hey. What is it?" Natsuki looked at her and asked.

"Natsuki, thank you for today. I forgot to thank you just now. Chinatsu and me had fun today." Shizuru told her and both of them were staring into each other's eyes.

Green met red and their eyes seemed to have many things to say to each other. After a short moment, Shizuru spoke again.

"Drive carefully, Natsuki."

"I will. I will see you soon, take care, Shizuru." Natsuki said calmly to her and she opened the door to go out. Shizuru closed the door and was leaning against it. She let go of her breath that she didn't know that she was holding.

'I hope to see you again soon, Natsuki. Even if we are just friends.' Shizuru said in her mind and she slowly regained her composure. She walked to where Kenichi was, to talk to him.

"What was all that about just now?" Shizuru asked him.

"What?" He asked her innocently.

"The kiss on my cheeks and acting all affectionate towards me in front of Natsuki? I thought we only do that when we were at your Business functions." She told him and doing her best to be very calm.

" Well, she is your friend and I don't want her to think that we are not acting like normal married couples. And why does it matters?" He explained to her and asked for her reason for asking in the first place.

'Come on, Shizuru, tell me truth and I will let you go now.' Ken was encouraging in his head.

"I see… It doesn't matter. But she is my friend, Ken, not someone who attends any one of your functions." Shizuru told him and walked away.

'Yes, Shizuru, Natsuki Kuga is not just 'someone'. She is your special someone, Shizuru.' He thought sadly to himself.

He threw away the pile of documents on his desk and sat in his chair. There were papers flying and scattered all over the place but he didn't care.

'Shizuru, I'm jealous and I admit that. No matter how much I do for you, nothing can be compared to Natsuki Kuga. Before you came into my life, I was alone after my parents had passed away. Then I met you and you gave me a family. A beautiful and smart daughter, and I will do this for your happiness, Shizuru. But I don't think Natsuki Kuga can love you as much as I do.' Kenichi thought sadly to himself.

It started to rain when Natsuki drove back to the place that she had passed by when she was sending Shizuru and her daughter home. She stopped by the roadside and got out from her car, she needed to clear her head.

The rain got heavier and she didn't seem to care about getting drenched. Her eyes were wet and she didn't know if the rain or her own tears caused it. Earlier, she felt better about starting fresh as friends with Shizuru but now, she was feeling confused again.

"Shizuru! Why! Just why you have to come back now!" Natsuki shouted out to vent all her emotions that were suppressed since her meeting with Shizuru again.

She slowly dropped to her knees and punched the ground underneath her. After a few punches, she sat down on the ground and cried out loud. She stayed like that until she was feeling too tired to cry anymore and drove her way home.

It was not that easy to start a friendship with the person you still loved all over again.

A few days had passed without any incident. Natsuki was in her office in the early morning to get started for the day. In fact, she had spent the night in her office, working on Kenichi's medical files. She took a quick shower in the doctors' rest rooms and changed into fresh clothes.

At 8am, Mai opened the door and was shocked to see Natsuki sitting behind her desk, working. This was the first time for many years that she had seen Natsuki being in the office earlier than she was. What she didn't know, was that Natsuki had spent the night in the office.

"Good morning, Natsuki! What a surprise to see you so early." She greeted Natsuki who looked up from reading her files and smiled at her.

"Good morning, Mai. How was your trip?" She asked and was glad to see her friend again.

"Very good, Takumi's baby is so cute! She looked just like Akira and Takumi…" Mai went on and on about her baby niece while Natsuki was half listening and half thinking about Kenichi medical condition. Her deep thoughts were disrupted when Mai stopped talking and stared at her.

"Natsuki… Do you want to talk? I know that you're upset about Shizuru since our conversation the other day." Mai asked her. Mai sensed something was wrong with her ever since their conversation over the phone the other day when Natsuki mentioned to her that Shizuru was back, with her husband and kid.

"Mai, I wish I could tell you what I'm feeling right now, but I can't. I'm not sure what I'm feeling right now. About Shizuru and the whole situation." She said sadly.

"Do you still love her?" Mai asked her and sat down in one of the chairs, waiting for an answer.

"That is besides the point! She is married with a kid now!" Natsuki told her with her fists clenched on her desk.

"You don't have to yell at me. Just answer me, yes or no. So what if she is married, your feelings are still the same, right?" Mai tried to get the real answer from Natsuki.

"I'm sorry, Mai. I overreacted." Natsuki blushed at her mistake.

"It's ok, just answer me." Mai refused to give up on getting her answer.

"Yes, I do. I'm still in love with her, Mai, even after so many years, the feelings are still the same." Natsuki finally told her friend the truth.

"Do you think she still loves you?" Mai asked her.

"I don't know. She named her daughter, Chinatsu, after me that was what her husband told me. But what is the point when she is married with someone else and is a patient of mine." Natsuki informed Mai the rest of the story. Mai's eyes were teary and she tried to control her feelings. She felt very sad for Natsuki, she knew what her friend had been through for the past years.

"Does her husband know that she had feelings for you in the past?" Mai asked her to understand the situation better.

"I doubt it. He would be angry if he knew. He is nice to me and thought that we used to be very close friends, which is true in the past." Natsuki explained and drank her cup of black coffee to become more awake.

"I understand now. But how did Shizuru react to you?"

"We decided to start all over again as friends. That is good to me, Mai. As long as she is happy, I'm happy for her. I will do my best for her husband's surgery later." Natsuki tried to deny the jealousy that she had felt when she saw Kenichi holding Shizuru's hand the other day.

"Alright, Natsuki. I will be here for you if you need me, ok. Now let's get to work."

Natsuki smiled at Mai and they discussed about what they were going to do at work. Natsuki was glad that Mai was giving her the moral support that she needed.

Later, Kenichi and his family arrived at the hospital. He checked into one of the private rooms and Natsuki went to see him before his surgery.

She entered his room and saw Shizuru and Chinatsu who were sitting near the bed. Natsuki smiled at them and Chinatsu went up to her to hug her.

"Are you ready, Mr. Kaneshiro?" She asked him nicely.

"Yes, I am ready, Dr. Kuga. Shizuru, will you take Chinatsu outside to the canteen to get something to eat or drink for both of you, while I talk to Dr. Kuga." He told Shizuru who nodded and took Chinatsu out before that, the little girl hugged her father and told him to get better.

After they had left the room, Kenichi and Natsuki were the only ones left, Natsuki stood beside his bed to listen to what he got to say to her. Both of them looked at each other and it was totally silent in the room. Natsuki felt nervous about why Kenichi asked Shizuru and Chinatsu to leave the room. Suddenly, he spoke and Natsuki took a deep breath to prepare herself for what was coming.

"Dr. Kuga, I want to tell you something but before I tell you, let me inform you that I trust your capabilities as a doctor. However, if something happens during the surgery, I need you to take care of Shizuru and Chinatsu for me. Please…"

"Mr. Kaneshiro, why are you telling me this? They are your responsibilities and you will survive this…" Kenichi cut Natsuki short.

"Dr. Kuga, I sort of knew what happened between the two of you in the past." Natsuki's face went pale and her eyes widened when she heard this. She stood still and tried to calm her nerves.

"What do you know?" She asked him and stared into his eyes.

"That she had fallen for you a long time ago. And I'm just a substitute for you." He said softly and stared into her eyes. Natsuki was shocked and she sat on the nearby chair as her legs went weak.

"I don't understand, Mr. Kaneshiro, I…" Kenichi cut her off again.

" I'm not blaming you, Natsuki, if I may call you that. Please let me explain." Natsuki nodded her head to let him continue.

"Natsuki, when I first saw her, instantly I had fallen for her but what I didn't know was, her heart no longer belongs to her. I'm sorry to inform you that I did some investigation about Shizuru's past and somehow, I found out about you. The woman who had stolen Shizuru's heart, a long time ago before I even met her." Kenichi explained to her about the first time he met Shizuru at the hospital and how Shizuru's parents arranged their marriage and how it was consummated. He also told her the situation that would be happening to his family after he was no longer in this world.

While he was explaining to her, many thoughts came into Natsuki's mind and she couldn't stop her tears from falling. She was silent throughout the whole explanation and she didn't know what to say.

"Natsuki, I'm sorry to say this, but when I first saw a picture of you, I thought there was a strong resemblance between us and I hated you. I found out the reason why Shizuru agreed to go out with me, was because I was only your substitute. But now I can't hate you as I realized who is the one, who is able to give Shizuru, the true happiness that she desires all these while. After I'm gone, I entrust my family's happiness in your hands. Please take care of them." Kenichi said sadly and held out his hand for Natsuki.

Natsuki looked at his hand and didn't do anything, she stared at him and was trying hard to believe this man who was giving her what she didn't expect to receive.

He was giving her, his family, his wife and his daughter.

"You must be mad. You are a mad and selfish person, Mr. Kaneshiro." Natsuki replied coldly to him.

**'SMACK'**

Kenichi slapped her hard across her face and Natsuki was too shocked to do anything.

"You are the one who is mad and selfish, Natsuki! Because of you, a few people got hurt, have you ever think about that! I don't understand how or why you could hurt Shizuru! I saw the love in your eyes for her on the other day regardless how hard you tried to hide or deny it. Shizuru was blind to notice that as she was shocked to see you again after so many years. I planned all of these for both of you to meet again but now I'm disgusted by your own cowardice!" Kenichi yelled at her.

"Baka! She is your wife! And you are my patient! Do you know what you are talking about here!" Natsuki stood up and yelled back at him and she was holding back from punching him on his face. Kenichi stared at her for a short while and then he smiled, looking at her.

"I know very well, Natsuki. Now, I truly believe that you are a kind person and forgiving person. If all these didn't happen in the first place, I think we could be good friends. I trust you to love and protect them after I'm gone. Please promise me and grant me this very last wish, Natsuki." He held out his hand for Natsuki again. Natsuki was surprised by his reaction and after thinking for a short moment, she took his hand.

"Kenichi… I..I will promise you to love and protect them but I'm sure that you will survive the operation. I will do my best to do it." Kenichi's eyes were teary and he thanked Natsuki. Both of them hugged each other for a short while before letting go.

"Natsuki, I don't know how to thank you but I will come and haunt you if you ever mistreat either one of my girls." He said it jokingly and Natsuki finally smiled.

"Is that a threat, Kenichi?" Natsuki asked him and they smiled at each other.

"Ha ha, maybe. Now I'm ready for the surgery, Natsuki."

Natsuki nodded and she left the room to prepare for the surgery. She saw Shizuru coming towards her, with Chinatsu holding her hand.

"Natsuki, is everything ok?" Shizuru asked her out of curiosity. She wanted to know what Kenichi had said to Natsuki.

"Shizuru, everything is ok, no worries, I will do my best to save him." Natsuki comforted her and smiled at Chinatsu and her before she went ahead to do her work.

Shizuru entered the room with Chinatsu beside her. Kenichi looked at his family and told them to come near him. He hugged the most important people in his life and told them that he loved them very much. Shizuru was suspicious by his behavior and when she asked him, he told her that it was nothing. They spent their time together as a family before Kenichi was due for his surgery.

"Shizuru, I will always love you. And Chinatsu, be a good girl, ok." He told them before he was given the anesthetics. His bed was pushed into the surgery room and Shizuru waited outside the surgery room. She had asked their butler to pick Chinatsu up to go home for her rest. She insisted on waiting for Kenichi and Natsuki to be done with the surgery.

Mai happened to see her and she was kind enough to give Shizuru some tea while she was waiting in Kenichi's private room. Even though Shizuru didn't love Kenichi, she was still his wife and she would wait for his return. Typical of a well brought up lady like her.

**TBC**

A/N: Ok, I know some of you might feel like doing something to me, let me run away and hide first.

But before that, I seriously need a Beta Reader, does anyone know how things work over here? Any volunteer? I promise to be good… 'puppy eyes'…

Please r & r. Until next time, ja ne.


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